ANKARA, June 28. /TASS/. There are several reasons why Russia should not withdraw from the grain deal, Moscow will most likely continue to participate in the negotiations, Professor of Istanbul Beykent University and Head of the Department of International Relations Armagan Gozkaman told TASS.
"I would like to say right away that I do not believe Russia would realistically withdraw from these agreements due to three factors. Russia enjoys certain benefits in exchange for facilitating the shipment of Ukrainian food across the Black Sea, selling fertilizer and with the option to sell natural gas. This is important, and Russia will not give it up," he said.
The second reason, according to Gozkaman, is the impact on African countries. He added that something very serious must happen for Moscow to withdraw from the deal, for example - either a serious escalation of the level of confrontation between the parties to the conflict, complete and deliberate failure to fulfill obligations by the party that agreed with Russia in exports of Russian fertilizers and gas. The third reason is China's involvement in the grain deal, the expert added. If the agreement is cancelled, Russia, in his opinion, may lose some preferential treatment in dealings with China.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Russia would not endlessly show goodwill in the situation around the grain deal, since the West does not fulfill the agreements on exports of Russian agricultural products. "Russia has repeatedly made gestures of goodwill, showing a very responsible approach. But, unfortunately, in the absence of reciprocity and the desire of the collective West to fulfill part of the agreements concerning Russia, of course, this manifestation of goodwill, political will, cannot be infinite," he said.
Peskov added that Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal is possible when its next extension period ends.
Putin said at a meeting with military reporters on Tuesday that Russia is considering withdrawing from the grain deal. He drew attention to the fact that most of the Ukrainian grain, contrary to the agreements, goes to quite prosperous countries of the European Union. "We understand this. We deliberately agreed to it (grain deal - TASS) in order to support developing countries - our friends, and in order to lift sanctions on our agricultural sector. We were deceived once again," he said. Moreover, he continued, almost no Ukrainian grain reaches African countries. "Therefore, we are now thinking about withdrawing from this so-called grain deal. Moreover, the vessel corridors are constantly used by the enemy to launch naval drones," Putin said
On July 22, 2022, a package of documents on the supply of food and fertilizers to the international market was signed in Istanbul. Initially, the agreements were concluded for 120 days, in November of last year they were extended for the same period. On March 18, 2023, Russia announced a 60-day extension of the deal, warning that this would be enough time to evaluate the implementation of the memorandum signed with the UN. On May 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the grain deal had been extended for two months starting May 18.